Issues Concerning Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, Bisexual and other Sexual Minorities Africa
We started off as GayUganda...., but time changes all....

Thursday, June 10, 2010

A Gay African’s Worst Nightmare.

Apparently, Chimbalanga and Steven of Malawi, the famous gay couple that got married are having problems.

Steven has broken up with Aunt Tiwo, and he has apparently fallen in love with someone and is vowing to get married to the lady.

Time to ring the bells?

I don’t think so. Those guys are under enormous pressure right now. They have gone through the stress of the trial. They have become the national horror show. And, they were in prison. I do live in Uganda, but the kind of pressure that these guys have been living is the very reason I stay lurking in the closet. It is every gay Ugandans, gay Africans’ nightmare.

Tiwo will find it very hard to hide. A transgender at the very least, having identified as a woman, come out and with statements made in the media, Tiwo is really out. As out as any African can be as different. Maybe that might work in her favour. The hullabaloo may go down… or maybe some crazed person may try to convert her or to exorcise the demons,or… whatever. I once wrote about a story from the Daily Monitor of a Transperson in Uganda.

His luck ran out last week when a curious young man tried to touch his ‘breasts’ at a drinking joint, only to get amused when a sponge fell down.

The LC1 Chairperson, Mrs Angella Okello and other women, took him to a separate house to check and ascertain his gender but were shocked to discover that he was a mature man. Drama then ensued as he was stripped and beaten by angry residents who forced him to walk naked for over the 5km stretch to Tororo Central Police Station.

Yeah. Stripped, searched, marched, arrested. For the crime of being different.

Stephen has the luxury of hiding.

But, is it any easier for him? It is a matter of fact that our communities tend to be very intolerant. His whole world knows what has been happening, and even saying that he will get married to a woman (poor lady…!), that might tone down the pressure. But, will it? In Gulu, in Uganda last year, a woman was burnt to death, for the crime of making a pass at another woman. True, that case is in court.

Remember the anti-gay demos in Uganda that Ssempa led? And those in Kenya that turned violent? Well, here is a report of another demo, this time in Ghana. What is happening in Africa? The rhetoric is depressingly familiar. Ssempa does have brothers and sisters...!

Over a thousand protesters in Ghana have staged a massive demonstration amidst a heavy downpour in the oil city, Sekondi -Takoradi in the Western region to express their opposition to the growing activities of gay and lesbians in that part of West African country.

The protesters defied to engineer their displeasure as they went through the principal streets of the metropolis wielding placards following an alleged report that close to 60 gays and lesbians from the Eastern, Ashanti and Central regions of that country, have attended a get-together held in Tanokrom and other suburbs of the city.

The Muslim community in Takoradi with support from other religious groups and concerned citizens took to the streets of the Twin city.

The Leader of the demonstrators, Saeed Hamid, told AfricaNews that the demonstration was meant to draw government’s attention to the conduct of the gays and lesbians in the country, particularly in the Western Region.

According to the anti-gay and Lesbians group, even though people had the right to choose various sexual orientations and associate with whatever group they desire, the constitution also frowns on the activities of gays and lesbians.

GROUPS FORMED... ANTIGAY OF COURSE

Hamid said Ghana as a country is mainly occupied by Christians and Muslims, and the practice should not be embraced, saying it could have dire consequences on the country.

"Ghana will suffer more than the experience of Sodom and Gomorrah, should we embrace this practice in this country".

PLAY THE RELIGIOUS CARD. OF COURSE

In a petition presented to the Western Regional Minister Paul Evans Aidoo, the protesters said, the rate at which the youth in the Twin City are putting up the practice is alarming and is much of a concern since most of the young boys involved have health problems and wear pampers.

"How would you feel, if someone puts his penis into your anus?" He queried.

Adding that, the act could jeopardize their future.

HAVE YOU HEARD THESE THINGS SOMEWHERE ELSE? WHY, PRAY, WOULD YOU HAVE SOMEONE PUT A PENIS INTO YOUR ANUS????!!

Hamid mentioned that a lot of expatriates in Tarkwa and Takoradi working in the mining and oil industry were the ones luring the innocent youth into the practice through the influence of money.

BLAME the FOREIGNERS card...

They are therefore calling on the government to clearly state what the law says about homosexuality and possibly criminalize the practice. He was however worried that Takoradi is gradually becoming a hub for gays and lesbians hence their decision to resist the ‘’ungodly act’’.

Receiving the petition on behalf of the President, the Western Regional Minister Paul Evans Aidoo assured the demonstrators that steps would be taken to address their concerns.

The Minster advised the group not to take the law into their own hands by attacking the alleged gays and lesbians in their communities since that would be a breach of the law.

INTERESTING... A GOVT SPOKESPERSON ACTUALLY DEFENDING GAYS?

The group has given indications that it would organize a nationwide protest if no positive response is heard from the government after two months.

The Western Regional Police Commander DCOP Mahama Hamidu, who led his team to offer protection to the demonstrators, described the march as peaceful.

But, not all news is bad news in Africa... Here is something else from Zimbabwe and South Africa. I am not gay, ask my wife.And the reporter did go ahead to ask the question! Ahem, I guess gay queries are taking place all over Africa, yes? Oscar Wilde had a quip about this sort of fame…. Better to be talked about, than to rot in our cupboards.